Junior Anderson

JUNIOR DELMONT ANDERSON 1922-2011

May 9, 2011 Junior died shortly after a heart attack at Lakeview Hospital in Bountiful, Utah. He was preceded in death by his wife (Marian Crawford Anderson), mother (Mabel Hodges Anderson), father (Clarence S. Anderson), Sister (Constance David) and Grandson (Jeremy Michael Blackburn). Though we feel he was returned home too soon he had lived a long and adventurous life. He was born in Emporia, KS on August 6th, 1922 . In his hometown he was nurtured by an abundance of close relatives, including both sets of grandparents. This, combined with his familys boarding people in their house fostered a love of people and a strong sense of family. At age seven his mother introduced him to his first great passion when she taught him piano. At 17, his immediate family moved away to Denver while he remained in Emporia with grandparents until high school graduation, when he joined his parents in Colorado. Junior attended schooling in a wide range of fields, and in 1941 got a job working construction for the Denver Remington Arms plant which later gave him the opportunity to journey further west to work their Salt Lake site. (Though the job provided a great segue into further exploring the world, intense physical labor was not his strongest suit and he soon began a series of employment changes that would lead on to his eventual career path, which culminated in his working for 20 years as a Utah State Income Tax Auditor.) After arriving in Salt Lake he began attending and participating in the LDS church . While working as a property clerk in the supply division at Fort Douglas he enlisted in the Navy October 3, 1942, only a day after his Baptism into the church. In 1944 Junior was aboard the U.S.S. Midway (later renamed the St. Lo.) when it became the first ever major warship to be sunk by a Kamikaze. The attack took 113 lives, and earned Junior a Purple Heart. Following his WWII deployment, he returned to his family, and attended the University of Denver, graduating with his B.S. in Finance in 1949. He later returned to active duty in the military as an officer, during the Korean War, served many years in the Reserves and retired from the Navy in 1982. In 1951 the Navy returned him to Utah, where he met the love of his life, Marian Crawford, while stationed at Clearfield Naval Supply Depot. They married in the Salt Lake LDS temple on August 28, 1952 and raised three daughters in Bountiful. Together they enjoyed many a vacation traveling the country and world. Many of Junior and Marians favorite travels revolved around the reunions of the St. Lo survivors, where they loved to dance together. In August of 2001, Marian was taken from him and his health began to slowly decline. Junior is survived by his 3 daughters, Marjorie Lynn Freund of Idaho Falls, ID; Nancy Amorette Kohl (Douglas) of Olympia, WA; and Wendy Christine Blackburn (Michael) of Bountiful, Utah. He is also survived by 10 of his grandchildren, Arthur (Kelly), Brian (Renee),and Jason Freund and Marie Freund Hazlett (Tyson) of Kansas; Eric Freund of Singapore; Jeanette Freund Tatton (Michael), Maranda Blackburn Hammack, and Brent and April Blackburn of Utah; and Alan Kohl of Washington; and his 6 great-grandchildren. FAREWELL JUNIOR, YOU WILL ALWAYS BE IN OUR HEARTS! Funeral services will be held Monday, May 16th at 1 p.m. In the Bountiful 31st Ward Chapel, at 585 East Center Street. Friends may call at Russon Brothers Mortuary at 295 North Main in Bountiful on Sunday, May 15th from 6-8 p.m. and Monday, May 16th at the Ward Chapel from 11:45 a.m. -12:45 p.m.. Interment is at Bountiful Cemetery. Online guestbook at www.russonmortuary.com.